Everything I Bought In October 2018

I made a terrible mistake this month. TWO terrible mistakes, in fact. One cost me money (still kicking myself), and one actually saved me money... but came with a high price.

More...

I'll share more about those in a moment, but another thing that saved me a lot of money was... not leaving the house. Because I was still suffering the effects of my big burnout in September, and because Scout was ill for a lot of October, I didn't venture outside my front door much. In fact, if I hadn't had to bring Scout to various medical appointments, and if my parents hadn't been coming at the end of the month, I might not have left the house at all.

This is something I've spoken about before, but taking away the temptation can make a big difference. If you can't see it, you won't want it. How many times have you walked into a store for one thing and come out with loads? (Looking at you, Target.)

Instead, sit at home in blissful ignorance.

I know there's also online shopping but if you keep yourself busy and resist the urge to click over, you can continue counting your dollars as they stack up in your bank account.

Take away the temptation, and you won't have to fight it.

Overall, for October, I think I did reasonably well but, as I alluded to earlier, I did have a slip-up or two. Watch the video below to find out what they were, and to see what else I spent money on:

Now that we're nearing the end of the year, something that's playing on my mind is all the money I've spent in 2018 and whether or not it was wisely invested. The things I bought back in January... Do I still have them? Do I still love them?

I suspect there'll be a lot of soul-searching in the coming weeks while I try figure out what I spent money on that really mattered. What did I buy that didn't even last the year? What was a complete waste? What are my weaknesses? Where are the patterns?

I'm coming to the end of my year-long experiment and I want to be able to look back and learn from it. It's why I made all the videos – to have an account... and to hold myself to it.

It's foolish to think I'll change overnight, but my hope is that, by looking back over my purchases the past year, I'll face into 2019 with more clarity than before, and a better sense of where my hard-earned money should be going... and where it shouldn't!

If I'm honest, I'm a little concerned about the craziness Christmas will bring, but I do feel I'm finally turning a corner. Hopefully the festive season won't cause it to come undone!

In the meantime, if you're struggling to keep financially afloat, I'd encourage you to start tracking your spending too. You may, like me, find it an eye-opening experience!

CHOOSE YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE

2 Comments

Don’t feel bad about the photo purchased. I say it is worth it. I started buying some of those posed “we were there photos” at attractions. And I’m glad I did. I was able to have a nice photo taken with my husband, which ended up being the last photo of us, on our last vacation together, before he died in a bad car accident a few weeks later. That was 3 years ago. The amount of money (yes, usually a lot for a single photo) is long forgotten, but I have a great photo of a happy moment that I will never be able to repeat. And I wish I had more of them in those silly folder frames. I almost never look at my digital photos that I’ve taken, even less likely to have them printed, so I’m glad I started paying for someone to take pictures of us together in front of a digital background or a real background, and print the photo and put in in a folder for me to take home and cherish. Thanks for How to GYST. You are greatly appreciated.